The Cure For Insomnia
by carlessfreedom
Summary: He hadn't had a proper goodnight's rest in over a month. Every morning when he would join the King, the Queen, and Rapunzel for breakfast, they would politely ask him if he was getting enough sleep, which he would concede with a nod of his head. Can Rapunzel be the cure? Just pure fluff! Please R&R!


**Well, howdy! It's been a while, hasn't it? So I got the idea for this a couple weeks ago, and today I finally had free time to write it down. I almost trashed it halfway through...I'm not sure how I feel about this story. Normally I'm proud of the ones that I post on here, but I don't know about this one...so please tell me what you think! Thanks and enjoy! :)**

Insomnia was a familiar friend to Eugene Fitzherbert. He was used to staying up until the wee hours of the morning, staring at the moon and thinking about his place in the universe. Ha! Who was he kidding? Insomnia was a pain in Eugene's ass. He would sit in bed and flip his pillow over to the cold side at least fifty times before settling into an uncomfortable sleep.

He hadn't had a proper goodnight's rest in over a month. Every morning when he would join the King, the Queen, and Rapunzel for breakfast, they would politely ask him if he was getting enough sleep, which he would concede with a nod of his head. Rapunzel would place her petite hand on top of his and give it a reassuring squeeze. She knew that after lunch she would find Eugene in the library curled up on the settee, snoring lightly.

This was his problem. He couldn't sleep at night, and he couldn't figure out why. His mattress was anything but lumpy, and the room was the perfect temperature at night. Yet he would toss and turn all night long and catch up on his sleep in the middle of the day. Some days, like earlier today, he would be busy with something and wouldn't have the chance to sleep at all.

Lightning flared in the sky, igniting his room in a pale, ghostly glow. Of course, the night he desperately wants to sleep, there was a raging thunderstorm just outside of his window. Wondering how he could've possibly obtained this golden streak of luck, he sat up and crossed the room to his wash basin. He decided to splash some cold water on his face, since he was going to be up all night anyways. As he was toweling his face off, he heard his bedroom door open and close. Whirling around, he was surprised and grateful to see his beloved standing in the middle of the floor.

"Rapunzel," he whispered, smiling crookedly, "what are you doing up?"

Just then, another strike of lightning lit up the room and Rapunzel jumped slightly.

"Ah," Eugene said, nodding his head in understanding, "you can't sleep, either?"

Rapunzel shook her head sheepishly. "No," she said, twiddling her thumbs nervously. "It's just…so_ loud_," she explained, sitting down on the edge of Eugene's bed.

Eugene chuckled and walked over to sit beside her on the bed. "What do you think is going on up there?" he asked her, pointing up to the sky. A deafening crack of thunder sounded overhead, and Rapunzel scooted closer to Eugene, wrapping her slender arms around his muscular torso. He slid an arm around her and rested his cheek on top of her head.

"I don't know," she said, her voice muffled by his nightshirt. "A war of some kind, probably."

The sat this way for a while, listening to the rain pelting hard against the castle roof and vibrating the windows. Sitting here with Rapunzel was so relaxing for Eugene. If he listened closely, he could hear her heart beating steadily, like a constant metronome.

"I normally like the rain," Rapunzel murmured, taking one of Eugene's hands gently. "It waters the plants and makes the flowers so vibrant. It smells nice too, after it's all over." She was thinking aloud, Eugene knew, and he watched her unknowingly as she picked up each one of his fingers, examining them in the moonlight.

She looked up at him, her green eyes glowing in the darkened room. "Sorry," she giggled, "I didn't mean to start rambling." She looked around the room and sighed. Suddenly, she perked up and looked at Eugene. "Can I sleep in here?"

Eugene was startled, to say the least. He had just gotten on everyone's good side in the kingdom. Everyone respected him and treated him like an actual human being. He knew the King and Queen had strict rules about how much time he could spend with Rapunzel. He didn't want anyone getting the wrong idea…but he couldn't sleep, and he didn't want to send her all the way back to her room by herself in the middle of the night. Who knew what might be lurking in the castle? Oh, the horror!

"Sure," he said, positioning himself comfortably on the bed. Rapunzel snuggled down next to him, brushing him with her cold feet. Eugene jumped, and Rapunzel started giggling.

"Sorry," she whispered apologetically. Eugene choked out a laugh. Being this close to Rapunzel was making his pulse start to jump in his throat. He could see every freckle sprinkled across her nose clearly, and he could smell the violet perfume she loved to wear. They lay like this for several minutes, not speaking, just examining one another. It was in this instant that both of them realized how much they loved one another. Both of them were vulnerable in their own way, and they needed each other.

Rapunzel rested a hand on Eugene's cheek, softly stroking his skin. It sent shivers down his spine, and he had never wanted to kiss anyone so badly in his entire life. He leaned in and brushed his lips against hers, savoring the way it felt. When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing heavily.

"I love you, Eugene," Rapunzel whispered quietly.

"I love you too, Rapunzel," he replied, playing with her chestnut hair.

After a while, Rapunzel's breaths became even and drawn out, and Eugene knew she was asleep. He looked down and smiled at his beloved pressed up against him, her eyelids fluttering with dreams he could not see.

Breaking out of his reverie of watching her sleep, Eugene noticed that it was no longer storming, but rather the rain was falling lightly against the windows, creating a steady beat that was making his eyes droop lower and lower.

_Maybe_, Eugene thought before giving into his slumber, _Rapunzel should stay more often. _

The next morning dawned with a brilliant sunrise that only the servants were around to observe. Not that most of them did, save one. She was the kitchen maid, and since one of the other maids was feeling under the weather, she was in charge of kindling the fire places for everyone that morning.

As she closed the door behind the King and Queen's chambers, she quietly hummed to herself. As she heaved her pail of brushes and firewood, she stopped at the end of the hall to observe the breathtaking sunrise.

_There's something about the sunrise,_ she thought, gazing in amazement at the brilliant pinks and oranges that were streaking across the sky like a painting. She admired it for a minute more and shook her head. She had work to do! She gingerly pushed open the door to Eugene Fitzherbert's room, being sure not to make a single peep and wake up the slumbering man. As she crossed the room to the fireplace, she was startled to see another figure in the bed.

The Princess! Sleeping in her beloved's bed! She almost dropped her pail in astonishment, but managed to hold on. She knew if she woke them up, she would be in for an earful later. She quickly polished the fireplace, dusted the ashes out of it, and lit the match, all without leaving a trace of ash on the floor. She stood up and adjusted her skirts, grabbing her brushes with the intention of returning back to the kitchens before breakfast.

As she was leaving, she hesitated at the foot of the royal couple's bed. It was quite romantic the way Mr. Fitzherbert was holding the Princess. She had heard the chatter downstairs of how Mr. Fitzherbert was having trouble sleeping. She smiled to herself as she realized that he was resting perfectly fine with the Princess in his arms. She knew that she was supposed to alert the head housemaid of this scandalous finding, but she decided she would keep this one to herself. After all, no one likes a snitch.

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